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Review: Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc

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Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc cover shows a forest of leaves with a cabin poking through. A disembodied ear, hand, and a crutch sit on top of the leaves.

Disfigured: On Fairytales, Disability, and Making Space
Amanda Leduc
Coach House Books
Published March 3, 2020

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Disfigured

In fairy tales, happy endings are the norm—as long as you’re beautiful and walk on two legs. After all, the ogre never gets the princess. And since fairy tales are the foundational myths of our culture, how can a girl with a disability ever think she’ll have a happy ending?

By examining the ways that fairy tales have shaped our expectations of disability, DISFIGURED will point the way toward a new world where disability is no longer a punishment or impediment but operates, instead, as a way of centering a protagonist and helping them to cement their own place in a story, and from there, the world. Through the book, Leduc ruminates on the connections we make between fairy tale archetypes—the beautiful princess, the glass slipper, the maiden with long hair lost in the tower—and tries to make sense of them through a twenty-first-century disablist lens.

From examinations of disability in tales from the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen through to modern interpretations ranging from Disney to Angela Carter, and the fight for disabled representation in today’s media, Leduc connects the fight for disability justice to the growth of modern, magical stories, and argues for increased awareness and acceptance of that which is other—helping us to see and celebrate the magic inherent in different bodies.

My Review

I heard about this book years ago from booktuber Jesse on YouTube, who read and recommended it. Sadly, it took me a long time to actually read the book myself, but I finally have! And I’m so glad I did.

This book explores fairytales through the lens of what it’s like to read them as a person with disabilities. The author not only shares her own experience as a girl with cerebral palsy, but she also quotes and shares stories of other writers and activists with disabilities as they share their own experiences as well.

One of the things I found the most impactful about DISFIGURED was seeing different fairytale characters and stories from this perspective. There were many things I hadn’t considered or was unaware of. It helped to break things down into tropes and themes and look at what those ideas say about the value or morality of those characters and through the characters the people represented.

For example, the author talks about how often in fairytales, characters with disabilities fall into two categories. Either they are noble characters whose disabilities become reversed because they were pure of heart or brave or noble. Or the disability is supposed to be evidence of an internal evil that remains a static part of the character’s nature.

There’s also some commentary about the differences in the roles of women versus men in fairytales, too. I enjoyed that a lot.

All in all, DISFIGURED is a really thoughtful book that explores familiar fairytales, where they came from, and what they teach us about who we are and what society should be. And asks whether we agree with those lessons and, if not, what we will do about it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
The author has Cerebral Palsy. She quotes other disabled writers and activists.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Very infrequent extreme profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to fairytale romance/weddings. Leduc recounts an early version of what became the Sleeping Beauty fairytale in which a maiden pricks her finger on a flax seed and falls into a magical sleep. A traveling king sees her and is so overcome with lust that he rapes her (not described in any detail). The author points out that the story never addresses the king’s behavior as problematic, wrong, or illegal.

The author references an essay written by a man with disabilities who openly talks about hiring sex workers to meet his personal needs. (No details beyond this.)

Spiritual Content
Discusses the origins of the fairy godmother/fairies in fairytales. Examines the Christian (Calvinist, in the case of the Grimm Brothers) roots or edits to many fairytales in subsequent editions. Mentions of magic in stories.

In one tale, the devil tricks a man into promising his daughter to him. The girl thwarts the bargain several times.

Violent Content
References to some gory elements of especially early fairytales. Cinderella’s stepsisters mutilate their feet to fit into her shoe. The evil queen in Snow White is forced to dance in red-hot metal shoes until she dies at the tale’s end. See romantic content.

The author also discusses the changeling myths and how people would leave their babies or young children in the snow to die of exposure if they believed the baby was a changeling. She briefly tells a story about a man who burned his wife to death. He claimed she’d been replaced by a changeling after an illness.

Drug Content
Mentions of magical potions or poisoned fruit.

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Review: Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

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Never Never (Never Never 1-3)
Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
Hoover Ink, Inc
Published July 25, 2016

Amazon | Goodreads

About Never Never

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Hopeless joins forces with the New York Times bestselling author of Mud Vein. Together, they have created a gripping, romantic tale unlike any other. “How odd to be made of flesh, balanced on bone, and filled with a soul you’ve never met.”

Charlize Wynwood and Silas Nash have been best friends since they could walk. They’ve been in love since the age of fourteen. But as of this morning…they are complete strangers. Their first kiss, their first fight, the moment they fell in love…every memory has vanished. “I don’t care what our real first kiss was,” he says. “That’s the one I want to remember.”

Charlize and Silas must work together to uncover the truth about what happened to them and why. But the more they learn about the couple they used to be…the more they question why they were ever together to begin with.

“I want to remember what it feels like to love someone like that. And not just anyone. I want to know what it feels like to love Charlie.”

My Review

Originally this book was released as three individual novellas. I read at least the first one when it came out, but I’d never finished the rest of the series until now. I’d been feeling pretty worn out and just wanted an easy read, so I picked up the e-book of the complete series of NEVER NEVER.

While it’s an easy read, and I enjoyed that, I struggled with some elements of the story. I felt like the romance kind of glorifies a pushy guy who doesn’t listen to his girlfriend and rationalizes that behavior as evidence that he loves her so much. That tends to make me uncomfortable in a story because it’s a red flag for a possible abusive relationship.

I liked that Charlie and Silas both face this constant time deadline, where their memories will reset, so they have to figure out how to leave clues for themselves or how to build on what they learned the last time with higher tension as they get closer to a reset.

On the whole, I am glad I finished the series– it’s one that I would think about now and then because I’d left it unfinished. So I’m glad I know how it ends. I feel like the themes and some of the ways Silas and Charlie relate to each other may have been more common or idealized at the time the book came out. I felt like Silas’s pushiness interfered with my ability to invest in the romance, so it was a bit of a miss for me in that respect.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Brief racial slur. Strong profanity used frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Sex between a boy and girl. Kissing and sexual situations. In one scene, a school guidance counselor tries to kiss a student she’s been having an affair with. (No mention of this being abusive in terms of her position, even though she uses her job to get him alone with her, even when he doesn’t want to be.) In another scene, a girl tells a boy he can’t touch her a certain way and he proceeds to try to do it anyway. The text treats this as kind of a “boys will be boys” sort of activity.

Spiritual Content
List.

Violent Content
Silas gets into several fistfights. References to bullying behavior. Charlie calls a girl she has a history of picking on “objectively ugly”. Charlie is held in a small room she at first believes is a mental hospital where she’s drugged.

Drug Content
Charlie’s mom is an alcoholic and can’t take care of Charlie or her sister. Charlie is held in a small room she at first believes is a mental hospital where she’s drugged.

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Review: Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

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Foul Lady Fortune (Foul Lady Fortune #1)
Chloe Gong
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published September 27, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Foul Lady Fortune

The first book in a captivating new duology following an ill-matched pair of spies posing as a married couple to investigate a series of brutal murders in 1930s Shanghai.

It’s 1931 in Shanghai, and the stage is set for a new decade of intrigue.

Four years ago, Rosalind Lang was brought back from the brink of death, but the strange experiment that saved her also stopped her from sleeping and aging—and allows her to heal from any wound. In short, Rosalind cannot die. Now, desperate for redemption from her traitorous past, she uses her abilities as an assassin for her country.

Code name: Fortune.

But when the Japanese Imperial Army begins its invasion march, Rosalind’s mission pivots. A series of murders is causing unrest in Shanghai, and the Japanese are under suspicion. Rosalind’s new orders are to infiltrate foreign society and identify the culprits behind the terror plot before more of her people are killed.

To reduce suspicion, however, she must pose as the wife of another Nationalist spy, Orion Hong, and though Rosalind finds Orion’s cavalier attitude and playboy demeanor infuriating, she is willing to work with him for the greater good. But Orion has an agenda of his own, and Rosalind has secrets that she wants to keep buried. As they both attempt to unravel the conspiracy, the two spies soon find that there are deeper and more horrifying layers to this mystery than they ever imagined.

My Review

I feel like historical novels are always hit or miss with me. It has to be hard to find the right balance between anchoring the story in a setting of a different time and not letting those setting details intrude into the story too much.

At any rate, I thought Chloe Gong did a great job keeping her novel grounded in 1930s Shanghai. I definitely felt the historical components and how they worked with the story, and I loved getting lost in the politics and intrigue.

The only thing that really confuses me about this book is that it’s not really young adult. Like, at all? I think Rosalind is supposed to be nineteen, and Orion is twenty-two. All but one of the other point-of-view characters seem to be older. And all but one of them are finished with school and working in full-time careers. So I’m guessing the decision to market this as young adult has a lot more to do with capturing the adult audience who gravitate toward young adult books, probably because of the story’s speculative elements.

Anyway. I enjoyed the story a lot. It’s got a fake marriage partnership and a lot of spy/assassin action, which kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked the inclusive cast, and I felt like all the different points of view contributed to the story really nicely.

While this isn’t a sequel to THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS and OUR VIOLENT ENDS, it’s in the same story world, so there are connections between the two duologies. If you haven’t read THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS, then reading FOUL LADY FORTUNE will spoil some of the plot outcomes. I had no trouble following the story without reading the other duology, though.

All in all, I did really enjoy this one. My reviews will probably be posted out of order, so by the time you read this, you can jump straight back to my review of FOUL HEART HUNTER, which I’m really excited about reading.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are Chinese. Orion has had romantic relationships with boys and girls in the past. Celia is transgender.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man suggests that he will keep Rosalind’s identity a secret in exchange for sexual favors. Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some scenes show an operative killing a target with poison. Some scenes show experimental drugs given to a person who is strapped down. Scenes show a person injecting an unknown substance into the arms of civilians, causing them to die. Battle scenes include characters exchanging gunfire and at least one explosion.

Drug Content
Rosalind (and another killer) use poisons to kill targets. Some characters drink alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of FOUL LADY FORTUNE in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor

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Hotel Magnifique
Emily J. Taylor
Razorbill
Published April 22, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Hotel Magnifique

For fans of Caraval and The Night Circus, this decadent and darkly enchanting YA fantasy, set against the backdrop of a Belle Époque-inspired hotel, follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.

All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.

The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.

With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

My Review

This is another book that’s been on my TBR because of the buzz I heard about it when it came out. The premise reminded me a lot of THE SPLENDOR by Breanna Shields, which I really liked, so I think it took me a while to try this one because I worried they would be too similar.

There are definitely some similarities. A magical hotel. Romance. Sisters whose relationship can only be restored by uncovering the secrets within the hotel.

But there are a lot of differences, too. The magic system is very different, and it has a huge impact on the story. In THE SPLENDOR, Juliette solves the mystery solo, hoping it will reunite her with her sister. In HOTEL MAGNIFIQUE, Jani pursues the hotel’s secrets in order to free herself and her sister. They work together to find a way out. I think Juliette is also the younger sister, whereas Jani is the older one, if I’m remembering right.

Reading the book, I definitely see the comparison to CARAVAL, too. It’s got the same capricious magical fair feel to it, where magic is both amazing and dangerous. I really liked the way the magic system was used in HOTEL MAGNIFIQUE.

I’m a huge fan of sister books, and I loved the relationship between Jani and Zosa in this one, too. Jani’s protectiveness, Zosa’s mischievousness, and the lessons they both learn that ultimately draw them closer together were some of my favorite moments in the book.

There’s also a romance subplot that I enjoyed. I didn’t see it coming right away, but as they got to know each other, I found it very easy to root for Jani and her romantic interest to get together.

On the whole, I feel like this one lived up to the hype. I loved the rich, magical setting. I appreciated the way the author described the skin tone of every character and included diverse representations of gender, relationships, and race.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Jani is described as having an olive skin tone. Bel is described as having a copper skin tone. The author describes the skin tone of each character. Same-gender couples appear in the background of several scenes.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to use magic.

Violent Content
Magic can be unpredictable and harm others if not carefully managed. Some scenes show brief but graphic torture. In one, Jani witnesses someone gouging out a woman’s eye. In another, someone slams a toothed door on a girl’s fingers, severing them. Someone uses magic to kill an opponent in a couple of scenes.

Drug Content
Guests drink alcohol. Jani sips a drink she later learns had a truth serum in it.

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Winter 2024 Backlist Check-in

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Last year, I started doing a seasonal backlist reading check-in so I could share a little bit about some of the backlist titles I’d been reading. I prioritize frontlist reviews since I often get copies of those from publishers, so putting them up is more time-sensitive. But there are always titles I didn’t get to when they came out that I manage to fit in afterward– often as audiobooks.

As you can see, I’ve been busy since my Fall Backlist reading update, so this is going to be a long list. Several of these books are graphic novels that I got for Christmas for somewhat unselfish reasons. (I wanted to read them and also to offer them to my nephew and niece to read.)

I’m pretty happy with my progress tackling backlist books so far this year. Some of these will appear on my Beat the Backlist and Read Harder challenge pages, too.

Winter 2024 Backlist Reading

Strike the Zither (Kingdom of Three #1) by Joan He

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE was one of my favorite books I read last year, so I’ve had this one on my list since I first heard it was coming out. I love the way this author crafts large-scale political conflicts and complicated relationships. This one went in some directions I didn’t predict, and I’m eager for book two in the series.

Published October 25, 2022 | Review to Come

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I have been wanting to read this since another reviewer called it one of her top favorites for 2022. It reminded me a bit of THE SPLENDOR by Breeana Shields or CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber. Sisters. Lush magical setting filled with danger and secrets. Forbidden love. All the good stuff.

Published April 5, 2022 | Review to Come

Frida Kahlo: Her Life, Her Work, Her Home by Fransisco de la Mora

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This is the first biography of Frida Kahlo that I’ve ever read, and it left me wanting to read more about her life. I enjoyed the details about her life and her work and afterward spent some time looking up images of her paintings and where I might be able to see them someday.

Published April 11, 2023 | Review to Come

Salt Magic by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I got this book for Christmas and had been interested in this author’s work for a while. I love the way the illustrator uses color palettes to set moods and show tension. I really enjoyed the story– it’s a quick read.

Published October 12, 2021 | Review to Come

Northranger by Rey Tierciero and Bre Indigo

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: Northanger Abbey isn’t a story I’m very familiar with, but the author includes a lovely note in this book explaining the connection between this graphic novel and Austen’s novel. I thought the romance was super sweet and the use of horror movie references and suspense added a lot of fun to the book.

Published June 6, 2023 | Review to Come

Hooky (Hooky #1) by Míriam Bonastre Tur

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I keep seeing this book everywhere, and the story (two twin witches who go on the run) sounded cute. Some of the chapters felt a bit episodic, but considering this story began as a webcomic, I suppose that’s to be expected. I enjoyed the quirky characters and fun elements.

Published September 7, 2021 | Review to Come

This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I recently discovered that a friend reads a lot and she highly recommended this series, so I figured I better check it out. So far, I am entranced by the powerful writing and slow-burn forbidden love. I finished the first book and started the second on the same day.

Published February 1, 2022 | Review to Come

Nimona by ND Stevenson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I’ve been seeing this book everywhere, never more than now that there’s a Netflix movie. I decided it was definitely time to read it, and I’m so glad I did. This is like Dr. Horrible’s cooler, more sophisticated older sibling, and yet it’s charming and fun all in its own right. Definitely a must-read for fantasy fans.

Published May 12, 2015 | Review to Come

Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I’ve listened to an audio version of this book before, but it’s been at least ten years. I wanted to revisit the work to help keep Dr. King’s messages in the context that he issued them. In this letter, he responds specifically to the white Christian leadership who have asked him to stop protesting and “work within the system” instead. Powerful words and a message that still rings out as timely today.

Published February 22, 2018

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I’ve seen this graphic memoir on book ban lists a lot in the last few years, so I wanted to check it out. I think the author writes with so much courage and desperately needed frankness. These are topics that a lot of people have questions about and aren’t sure how to get answers. I really appreciated having a roadmap through someone’s personal experience that can help orient me as an ally to what those experiences might be like.

Published May 28, 2019 | Review to Come

Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit (Theo Tan #1)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I enjoyed the second book in this series, and I had the first one already (from a publisher), so I’d been meaning to circle back and read it. I think I actually enjoyed this one more than the second one. I really enjoyed Kai’s asides and footnotes, and Theo’s devotion to his brother melts my heart.

Published May 31 2022 | Review

These Infinite Threads (This Woven Kingdom #2) by Tahereh Mafi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I started this sequel within hours of finishing the first book in the series, and I’m so hooked. I love that one of my favorite minor characters from the first book has a bigger role in this one.

Published February 7, 2023 | Review to Come

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This is technically a reread, since I read this in high school. All I remembered about it is that I did not like it, but since I’m planning to read WHAT SOULS ARE MADE OF, which is a remix of the story, I wanted the original to be fresher in my brain. I still did not like this book. I don’t know. What am I missing? This seems like a tale of people treating each other miserably (if not abusively) and suffering for it?

Published February 7, 2023 (Orig 1847) | Review to Come

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This is such a fun middle grade fantasy novel. I think fans of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON will enjoy the quirky voice of the narrator and the playfulness of the story. This is the first book I’ve read by T. Kingfisher, and it’s an absolute win.

Published July 21, 2020 | Review to Come

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I listened to this one as an audiobook, read by Jason Reynolds. It felt like having someone sit with you over coffee and explain the history of racism and how it has impacted American life and politics. It made me realize how little I’ve read of important Black writers like bell hooks, and how little I know about the lives of people like Malcolm X and Angela Davis. Something I’d like to change.

Published March 10, 2020 | Review to Come

Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This reads like an easily relatable folk tale or origin story, if that makes sense? I enjoyed the straightforward yet somehow lyrical writing style and the vivid descriptions of life in Alaska.

Published September 12, 2023 | Review to Come

Balto and Togo: Hero Dogs of Alaska by Helen Moss

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: The weirdest part of reading this book is, as a kid who grew up watching the movie Balto, how many times I would read facts about what actually happened and have to process my split-second denial. I’d kind of rear back and immediately think, that’s not what happened in the movie! Which…. well, duh? It was a cartoon? Anyway, I loved getting a chance to learn the real story of these brave mushers and their dogs who helped stop a diphtheria outbreak.

Published November 28, 2023 | Review to Come

Have you read any backlist titles lately?

If you’re participating in a backlist reading challenge this year, please let me know! If you have a page or post where you list the books you’ve read, please feel free to put a link to it in my comments. I’d love to check it out.

Have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know what you think about them if so.

Review: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

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The Goose Girl (Books of Bayern #1)
Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published December 1, 2008

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Goose Girl

She was born with her eyes closed and a word on her tongue, a word she could not taste.

Her name was Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree, and she spent the first years of her life listening to her aunt’s stories and learning the language of the birds, especially the swans. And when she was older, she watched as a colt was born, and she heard the first word on his tongue, his name, Falada.

From the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original, and magical tale of a girl who must find her own unusual talents before she can lead the people she has made her own.

My Review

This book has been on my reading list for a really long time. I loved THE BOOK OF A THOUSAND DAYS by Shannon Hale, which I read years ago and was also based on a Grimm brothers fairytale. I’d heard of this book, too, but hadn’t gotten around to reading it until I joined the Beat the Backlist reading challenge. One of the prompts is to read a fairy/folktale you haven’t heard of before. Though I knew about this book for a long time, it’s the only place I’ve heard the story of the Goose Girl mentioned, so I am counting it for the prompt.

I went into the book thinking it was going to be a middle grade book, but I’m not sure why. Maybe because of the cover? I actually think this one would make a great book for middle school readers who are not quite ready to transition to YA, but have largely aged out of middle grade books. There’s a teeny bit of romance, but it’s not the focus of the story. Largely, this is about a girl who is figuring out who she is and learning to have confidence in herself.

I really liked Ani’s character. She’s sweet and humble, and awkward, especially at the beginning. But when she becomes a goose girl and pretty much has to learn to get along with others and begins to form friendships and relationships, she discovers her courage, too.

She has a couple of good women mentors. First, her aunt, who teaches her to speak with birds. Then, a woman in the forest who helps her recover when she’s lost and malnourished. Later, her supervisor, a woman in the town where she works as a goose girl, helps her when she gets injured and needs help. Ani also makes good friends, and those relationships become super important as she faces down her past.

Conclusion

This was a sweet story with a few intense moments. Ani must hide from soldiers who intend to kill her. She sees a horse that’s been killed. She witnesses battles.

But most of the story focuses on her and how she uses her abilities to protect others and bring people together and listen to them. I had a lot of fun reading it, and I’m glad I can finally share my review.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 up.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man stands threateningly over Ani and makes a suggestive comment. It scares her.

A girl tells of how the tradition of women going to war with their husbands began. At one point, they bare their chests to the men, reminding them of what’s at stake if they lose the war, namely that the women will become the property of the conquering army.

A man makes reference to the fact that the princess will share a bed with the prince when they are wed.

Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Ani has the ability to speak to some animals. Her aunt tells her there are those who have the ability to “people speak,” which allows them to convince others to do as they say and the ability to speak to elements of nature, such as the trees, fire, or wind.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. A man stands over Ani threateningly and makes a suggestive comment. Ani remembers fairytales about a mother’s blood saving her daughter in a moment of fear and doubt. She witnesses someone stabbed through the chest with a sword from behind.

Ani hears a horse has been killed and sees its dismembered leg, and later sees its head mounted like a trophy.

A man attacks Ani, chasing her and cutting her with a knife.

Battle scenes show fights with swords, javelins, and daggers. Some fatalities.

Drug Content
None.

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